Rail anchor



RAIL ANCHOR I Filed June 24, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY June 17,1930. c. G. ERICSON 1,764,010

RAIL ANCHOR Filed June 24, 1929 3 sheets-sh y 2 1 5 23 2, r 2 Z? 29 181.9 16 26 301 I I J 2 2,9 m 1 16 2B 23 :I l 18 1 24/ I Q 25 W ll!|l|ll'l1|li I j )1 \l 1771:2710 3 W vE/v TO R I I BY ATToR/vl- June 17,1930. Q G cso I 1,764,019

RAIL ANCI-IIOR I Filed June 24, 1929 3 SheetsSheet 3 //v|/ENT R- %MMWATTORNEY Patented June 17, 1930 *rnr riot RAIL ANCHOR Application filedJune 24,

The present invention relates to rail an chors for preventingvrailcreepage, and more particularly to anchors of the one-piece type thatare adapted to be sprung onto firm gripping engagement With-the railbase.

It is Well known to those familiar With track problems that the railsfor supporting the Wheels of a train tend to creep in the direction ofthe traffic, and that this creeping tendency has been greatly increasedby the present day practice of increasing the We1ght and speed of therolling stock.

To meet these changed conditions the rail anchor of today should becapable of resisting a greater creeping force imparted to the rails bythe heavier and faster moving rolling stool-:, and therefore shouldpossess increased strength and rail gripping properties. It is alsoimportant that the rail anchor shall be cheap, which necessitateseconomy in material and labor, utilized in its production. Such anchorshould also be so constructed that it is easy to apply and remove fromthe rail, While all danger of the anchor Working loose on the rail isavoided.

The present invention therefore relates to a one-piece rail anchor ofpowerful construction which is capable of being sprung into firm railgripping position under comparatively easy spring tension invvhich statethe device remains immobile When subjected to an average or normalcreepage load thrust but under a load thrust of exceptional magnit e thenonoverhanging end portion may move lengthwise of the rail slightlywhich ac tion temporarily increases the frictional engagement and springtension, but upon the cessation of the exceptionally heavy load thruststhe anchor, due to its peculiar structural embodiments, is adapted .toautomatically return to its initial position.

Many forms of one-piece rail anchors have been proposed heretofore, bothof the resilient and non-resilient type. The non-resilient or rig-idtypes of rail anchors proposed heretofore are open to the objection thatWhen subjected to a load thrust of exceptional magnitude they Willeither brake or slide lengthwise of the rail to a new permanentposition, and in either case they will fail to automat- 1929. Serial No.373,197.

ically return to their original position to hold the rail from creeplng.

In the resilient type of one-piece rail a11- chors difficulty has beenexperienced heretofore in developing a construction that Would maintainits proper Working position upon the rail under an average or normalcreepage load thrust but Would temporarily increase its frictional gripand spring tension under an excessive load thrust and then spring backto its original position When relievedfrom the excessive load thrust,and one of the objects of the present invention is to provide asinglepiece rail anchor that Will remain in action under all average or normalcreepagethnusts and if forced temporarily by an excessive creepagethrust to increaseitshold .uponthe rail base, Will automaticallyreturnto its normal operative position as soon as the excessive thrust haspassed, and then continue to function in a state of comparatively lowfrictional grip and spring tension .to resistand arrest the normalcreepage disturbances.

One important featureof the present invention therefore resides in aone-piece rail anchor having near one :end thereof a laterally extendingresilient arm that isadap'ted to be sprung into firm abutting engagementWith an edge of the :rail base flange innonoverhanging relation With therail edge to exert a constant gripping action upon the rail. As a resultof this construction the move from the rail Without the necessity ofpermanently bending or-distorting any ,por- .tion thereof, and danger ofthe rail anchor Working loose on the rail is avoided.

The use of this laterally extending resilient arm is made feasible,by-providingthe rail anchor With a shank adapted to extend across thebottom or under face of "the rail .andto be held in firm engagementtherewith by one or more overhanging jaws adapted-to firmly engage theupper inclined face of therail base so that they Will hold the shankagainst the under face of the rail with sufficient force to maintain theresilient arm at the opposite end of the shank under tension and Withits end in abutting and non-overhangin-g-engagement with the rail. As aresult of this con struction the resilient arm is held by the shank inconstant abutting engagement with the edge of the rail and from movingdown wardly out of engagement with this edge.

Another feature of the present invention resides in the construction andarrangement of the overhanging jaws which serve to hold the shanksofirmly against the under face of the rail base that the shank willbend or bow under extremely heavy load thrusts without moving the jawsrelatively to the rail. This bending or bowing action of the shank underexceptionally heavy load thrusts serves to temporarily increase thefrictional grip and transverse spring action, but as the intensity ofthe load thrust diminishes, the resilient arm returns automatically toits initial operative position where the anchor functions free frominjurious stresses under the normal creepage load. 2

Still another feature of the present invention resides in a sheet metalrail anchor which may be readily cut or punched from a sheet of steeland then bent to its final shape ready for use upon a rail. 7

Other features of the invention and novel combination of parts inaddition to the above will be hereinafter described in connection withthe accompanying drawings which illustrate good practical forms of theinvention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a rail anchor, constructed inaccordance with the present invention, secured to a rail in position toabut against a tie;

Fig. 2 on an enlarged scale is a vertical sectional view through aportion of the rail base flange, showing the engagement of the o-verhanging jaws therewith;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a blank which has been cut and is ready tobe bent into final shape;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the rail anchor as formed from theblank of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view through a rail showing the railanchor in position to be applied to the rail base; 7

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, but shows the rail anchor inoperative engagement with the rail base;

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the construction shown in Fig. '6;

Fig. 8 is a View similar to Fig. 7, but shows the right-hand portion ofthe rail anchor as shifted lengthwise of the rail by the pressureagainst the tie; and

Figs. 9 and 10 are top plan views showing modifications in theconstruction of the resilient arm of the rail anchor.

Referring to the drawings, 10 is the wheel engaging portion of a rail ofusual construction, 11 is the rail base flange which is connected to theupper portion 10 by the centrally disposed upstanding web 12, and therail base is provided with the usual upper inclined faces 18 and withthe opposite vertically disposed edges 14.

The rail anchor disclosed in the drawings is shown as formed of sheetmetal, but it will be apparent that it may be forged or otherwiseconstructed, and the rail anchor consists of a shank 15 adapted toextend across the under face of the rail base flange 11 and the upperedge 16 of this shank is adapted to rest firmly against the under faceof the base flange 11. The shank 15 is sufficiently wide to extenddownwardly a substantial distance from the under face of the rail baseto conlarge area and one face of this shank is adapted toabut firmlyagainst the tie 17, as will be apparent from Figs. 1, 7 and 8 of thedraw- 1Il 'S.'

b t one end of the shank 15 is provided one or more overhanging jaws,two being shown ,stitute a tie engaging element of relatively in thepresent construction, which are adapted to extend inwardly over the railbase flange a substantial distance froman edge 14: thereof, and tofirmly grip the upper inclined face 13 of this flange so that the jawswill hold the face 16 of the shank firmly against the under face of therail base. The overhanging jaws, in the embodiment of the invention il-ilustrated, are formed by cutting or shearing the anchor forming blank sothat it has the substantially rectangular configuration best shown inFig. 3, one entire upper corner of the blank being cut away lengthwiseof the blank well towards the central portion thereof, and in theremaining upper portion of the blank is formed a deep undercut toprovide a clearance space for a portion of the rail base flange and thiscutaway portion it should be noted has the oppositely inclined faces 18and 19 that constitute the flange engaging faces of the overhangingjaws, as will be apparent from Fig 4. v

The blank having the construction shown in Fig. 3 is preferably cut froma sheet of stock while hot, and may then be bent' to the configurationshown in Fig. 4: before the metal is allowed to cool, so that thefinished blank may be formed by a single heating of the metal and as theblank is permitted to cool off it may be quenched in oil or water, orotherwise treated to temper the rail anchor as desired.

It will be seen by comparing the disclosure of Figs. 3 and a of thedrawings that the end portion of the overhanging part of the blank shownin Fig. 3 is bent back on itself to form the jaw 21 which is laterallyspaced from the jaw 20. The jaw 20, it will be noted, lies directly overthe shank 15, while the jaw 21 is offset therefrom in a direction toextend over the tie 17 and is connected to the jaw 20 by the arcuateportion 22. It will be seen from the construction just described thatthe llG j aw 21 is supported by the j aw 20 and that the latter isconnected to the shank 16 by the upstanding portion 23. It is desirablethat the portion of the rail anchor provided with the overhanging awsshall at all times clear the vertical edge 1% of the rail, and theupstanding portion 23 is therefore preferably cut away as indicated by2% to form a clearance space for the rail edge 1d.

The construction so far described is such that the overhanging jaws 20and 21 may be forced into firm. gripping engagement with the upper face13 of the rail base. This is done by forcing the rail anchortransversely of the rail in a direction to bring the laterally extendingarm 25 provided at the opposite end of the shank 15 into position tocause its end 26 to spring upwardly into firm abutting engagement withthe opposite edge 14 of the rail.

As above stated it is important that the overhanging jaws 20 and 21shall serve to hold the shank 15 firmly against the under face of therail base 11, and to insure this the overhanging jaw 20 is soconstructed that it will grip the upper inclined face 13 of the railbase at a substantial distance from the edge l l of the rail. The flangeengaging face 18 of the jaw 20 is therefore so constructed that it has aslightly less taper than the flang 13; for example, if the rail baseface is disposed at an angle of say 1 1 to the under face of the rail,then the lower face 18 of the jaw 20 is given an angle of say 11 to theupper face 16 of the rail anchor shank. This will not only insure a firmgripping engagement of the jaw 20 with the rail base at a point near thevertical web 12 of the rail, but will permit the jaw 20 to springupwardly slightly to accommodate itself to the configuration of theparticular rail base flange to which it may be applied. The second orlaterally offset jaw 21 obviously will be less rigid than the jaw 20 andthe flange engaging face 19 of this second is therefore preferably soconstructed that it will normally extend downwardly a slight distancebelow the face 18 of the aw 20 as will be apparent from Fig. 2. Thiscauses the jaws 20 and 21 to be sub jected to a torsional twist as therail anchor is applied to a rail to increase the gripping action ofthese jaws upon the rail base flange, and this tortional twist servesalso to cause the rail anchor to accommodate itself to rail base flangesof different thicknesses.

Since the auxiliary jaw 21 is disposed at one side of the plane of theshank 15 away from the on-coming traffic, it will serve to resist thetendency of the shank to be rocked scout its upper longitudinal edge 16by the pressure of the shank against the tie.

The construction of the rail anchor is such that the shank 15 normallyextends diagonally of the rail, as will be apparent from Fig. 7. Theportion of the shank 15 from which the arm 25 extends abuts firmlyagainst a side face of the tie 17, and while there is present a c rtainresiliency and flexibility in the entire rail anchor, the rigidity ofthe device is such, nevertheless, that when once applied to a railengagement with a tie, as shown in F 7, it will notniove relative to therail when subjected to the average or normal cree age .load thrust butunder load thrusts of exceptional magnitude the end 26 to lier with, theintegral resilient arm 25 is capable of changing from the position shownin Fig. 7 to that in which it is shown in Fig. 8, with the obviousresult that the entire anchor will increase its grip on the rail basetemporarily or until there occurs a cessation in the intensity of theload thrust or longitudinal creepage forces, when the anchor returnsautomatically to its initial position. It is contemplated that theengagement of the jaws 20 and 21 with the opposite rail flange willexert a sufliciently rigid clamping action upon the rail base to preventthe portion of the rail anchor provided with these jaws from beingshifted in a direction transversely or lengthwise of the rail during thepresence of the excessive pressure, and in which case the shank 15 willbow or bend, as will be a parent from Fig. 8, and, as a result, when therail anchor is relieved from this temporary excessive pressure the partswill spring back to the original position in which they are shown inFig. 7, and will be assisted in returning to this position by thevibrations and wave undulations imparted to the rail by the rollingstock. In other words the jaws 20 and 21 engage the rail flange 11'. sofirmly that when a displacing pressure is exerted upon the opposite endportion of the shank 15 the jaws will not move but the shank will bendor bow as shown in Fig. 8.

It will be noted that the end portion 26 of the arm 25 extends upwardlya substantial distance above the upper edge 16 of the shank so that whenthe rail anchor is applied to the rail this face 26 will engage asubstantial portion of, or the entire vertical edge l-fl of the railbase. This upstanding abutting portion 26 of the arm 25 is convenientlyformed by cutting or shearing the blank to provide the same wit theinclined surface 2"? which may extend from a shoulder 28 pro vided uponthe upper face of the shank 15 to the outer end of the arm 25. Theshoulder 28 is normally inactive and lies in spaced relation to the railedge, as will be apparent from Figs. 7 and 8, and it is intended thatthis shoulder shall engage the rail edge 1 1 only when the rail anchoris subjected to a pronounced retrograde movement such as will shift theshank lengthwise of the rail to an increased diagonal angle from that inwhich it is shown in Fig. 7. The shoulder 2", however, while normallyinactive, helps materially in removing the rail anchor from a rail, aswill presently be pointed out.

lVhen it it. desired to apply the rail anchor of the present inventionto a rail this may be accomplished by placing the rail anchor by handupon the rail base in the manner shown in Fig. 5, whereupon the jaws maybe driven into firm gripping engagement with the rail base flange bystriking upon the face 29 of the rail anchor with a spike maul orthe'like, while at the same time a prying force may be exerted upon theopposite end portion of the rail anchor by inserting the small end of atrack bar or track wrench in the loop formed the inner face of thearcuate arm 25 to thereby force the rail anchor in the direction of itslength sufficiently to cause the outer end 26 of the arm 25 to springupwardly into firm abutting engagement with the rail edge 1%, as shownin Fig. 6.

When it is desired to remove the rail anchor from the rail, this may bedone by striking downwardly upon the arm 25 in an inclined direction tocause the shank to move downwardly sufiiciently to engage the upper faceof the shoulder 28 with the under face of the rail base, thus holdingthe rail anchor in its partially released position, whereupon anadditional blow upon the upper face of the arm 25 will serve to forcethe outer end portion of the arm 26 downwardly sufficiently to engagethe under face of the rail base, as shown in Fig. 5, to thereby permitthe complete removal of the rail anchor from the rail without causingany portion thereof to be permanently distorted either during theapplication of the rail anchor to the rail, or its removal therefrom.

In some cases it may be desirable to provide the laterally extending arm25 with a relatively sharp outer end which is adapted to bite more orless into the edge 14 of the rail. Modified constructions to this endare shown in Figs. 9 and 10, wherein it will be seen that the arcuatearm 25' has its outer end sheared at an angle to provide the relativelysharp rail edge engaging portion 30, this sharp edge being formedadjacent the outer curved face of the arm 2'5. The modified constructionshown in Fig. 10 differs from that of Fig. 9 in that the relativelysharp rail engaging edge portion 31 is disposed adjacent the inner'curved face of the arm 25, as will be apparent from the drawing. Themodified constructions shown in Figs. 9 and 10 may be similar to therail anchor shown in Figs. 1 to 8 inclusive except for the sharpenededge construction just mentioned.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the rail anchor of the presentinvention is extremely simple in construction and that it 7 may berepeatedly applied to and removed from a rail without permanentlydistorting any portion thereof, and it will also be seen that theconstruction of the laterally extending arm 25 is suchthat it. maintainsa con stant strong clamping action upon the edge of the rail thatprevents any possibility of the rail anchor from being accidentallydisengaged from the rail, andthat when the rail anchor is subjectedtoexcessive load thrusts the flexible curved arm will automaticallyincrease its frictional bite and spring action on the rail base.

WVhat is claimed is:

1. A one-piece rail anchor consisting of a shank adapted to extendacross the rail base to abut against a tie and provided at one end witha plurality of laterally spaced overhanging jaws formed to extendinwardly a substantial distance over the rail base and to engage theupper inclined face thereof to hold the shank firmly againstthe railbase, and provided at its opposite end with a laterally extending armthe entire endportion of which is disposed at one side of the verticalplane of the shank to bear against the rail edge in non-overhangingrelation and is held in firm abutting engagement with the rail edge bythe overhanging jaws.

2. A one-piece rail anchor consisting of a relatively straight shankadapted to extend across the rail base and to project downwardly asubstantial distance from the lower face of the rail to form a tieengaging ele- 'ment and provided at one end with a plurality oflaterally spaced overhanging jaws formed to engage the inclined upperface of the rail base at a substantial distance from the rail edge andadapted to hold the shank firmly against the rail base, and provided atits opposite end with a laterally extending arm that projects in thedirection of the on-coming traffic and the entire end portion of whichis disposed at one side of the vertical plane of the shank and isadapted to be sprung upwardly and held in firm abutting engagement withthe rail edge by the oppo-.

site overhanging jaws.

3. A one-piece rail anchor consisting of a shank adapted to extendacross the rail base to form the tie-engaging element and provided withlaterally spaced overhanging jaws adapted to extend inwardly asubstantial distance from the rail edge over the rail base and engagethe upper inclined face thereof to hold the shank firmly against therail base, and provided at its opposite end with a laterally extendingslightly resilient arm the end portion of which abuts against the edgeof the rail in non-overhanging relation with the rail base and held bysaid overhanging jaws from moving downwardly out of engagement with therail edge.

4. A. one-piece rail anchor consisting of a shank adapted to extendacross the rail base to form the tie engaging element'and provided withspaced over-hanging jaws constructed to extend inwardly a substantialdistance over the rail base and each jaw havllO ing its activefaceinclined slightly to the face of the rail base to engage the latter witha strong gripping action and adapted to hold the shank firmly againstthe rail base, and an arm at the opposite endof the shank formed toextend in the direction of the oncoming traffic entirely out of thevertical plane of the shank and having an end portion that abuts againstthe edge of the rail in non overhanging relation with the rail base andadapted to be held against said edge and from moving downwardly out ofengagement therewith by the over-hanging jaws.

5. A one-piece rail anchor consisting of a shank adapted to extendslightly diagonally across the rail base to form the tie engagingelement and provided at one end with a bent arm that extends away fromthe tie and the end portion of which is adapted to abut 3 against therail base edge, and the shank being provided at its opposite end withoverhanging jaws that clear the edge of the rail and engage the upperface of the rail base at a substantial distance from the rail edge andwith sufficient force'to hold the shank against the lower face of therail with a constant pressure that prevents the bent arm from movingdownwardly out of engagement with the rail edge.

6. A one-piece rail anchor consisting of a shank adapted to extendacross the rail base to abut against a tie and provided at one end witha pair of laterally spaced overhanging jaws formed slightly out oftransverse alignment with each other to grip the upper inclined face ofthe rail base with a powerful spring action and adapted to hold theshank firmly against the rail base, and the shank being provided at itsopposite end with an angularly disposed arm adapted to be sprung intoabutting engagement with the edge of the rail and held thereagainst andfrom moving downwardly by said overhanging jaws.

7. A rail anchor consisting of a shank adapted to extend across the railbase and provided at one end with a pair of integral overhanging jawsone of which extends towards the central upstanding rail web to engagethe upper inclined face of the rail base at a substantial distance fromthe rail base edge and the other is bent back in spaced relation to thefirst jaw to extend along said inclined face away from said web, and alaterally extending arm at the opposite end of the shank adapted to besprung into engagement with the rail edge and constructed to engage saidedge only at one side of the central vertical plane of the shank.

8. A rail anchor consisting of a shank adapted to extend across the railbase and provided at one end with a pair of integral overhanging jawsone of which extends towards the central upstanding rail web to engagethe upper inclined face of the rail base at a substantial distance fromthe rail base edge and the other is bent back in' spaced relation to thefirst jaw to extend along said inclined face away from said web, and aslightly resilient laterally extendingarm at the opposite end ofsaidshank adapted to rest against the edge of the rail base flange in:

non-overhanging relation and to be held against the rail edge by theoverhanging aws.

9. A rail anchor consisting of a shank adapted to extend across the railbase to abut against a tie and provided at one end with a pair ofintegral overhanging jaws one of which extend'stowardsthe centralupstanding rail Web to engage the upper inclined face of the rail baseat a substantial distance. from the rail edge and the'other is reverselybent to extend along said inclined face away from said web in spacedrelation to the first jaw, and an arm extending from the opposite end ofthe shank in the direction of the oncoming traffic to engage the edge ofthe rail base only at one side of the vertical plane of the shank andadapted to be held by the shankand jaws in engagement with said edge.

10. A rail anchor consisting of a shank adapted to extend across therail base to abut against a tie and provided at one end with a pair ofoverhanging jaws one of which extends over said shank and the other isoffset therefrom away from the on-coming traflic to lie over the anchorengaged tie and adapted to firmly engage the inclined upper face of therail base and prevent the pressure of the shank. against the tie fromtilting the shank about its upper longitudinal edge, and means at theopposite end of the shank adapted to engage the rail base flange.

11. A rail anchor consisting of a shank adapted to extend across therail base to abut againstv a tie and providedv at one end withoverhanging jaws one of which is offset from the plane of the shank awayfrom the on-coming. tratfic so that it will. lie over the anchor engagedtie and adapted to engage the upper face of the rail base and resist thetendency of the pressure of the shank against the tie to tilt the shankabout its upper longitudinal edge, and an arm at the opposite end' ofsaid shankextending in the direction of the on-coming trafiic andadapted to be sprung into abuttlng engagement wlth the edge of the railbase.

12. A one-piece rail anchor consisting of a shankadapted to extendacross the rail base to abut against a tie and provided at one end theon-coming traffic and having an end portion adapted to abut against therail base edge in non-overhanging relation and held in contact with saidedge by the shank and aws.

13. A one-piece rail anchor consisting of a shank adapted to extendacross the rail base to form the tie engaging element and provided withlaterally spaced overhangin jaws adapted to engage the upper inclineface of the rail base to hold the shank firmly against the rail base,and provided at its opposite end with a laterally extending slightly'with a laterally extending slightly resilient arm having a sharpenedend adapted to rest against the edge of the rail base in non-overhangingrelation therewith and adapted to be held against said edge by saidshank and aw. V

15. A one-piece rail anchor consisting of a shank adapted to extendacross the rail base to abut against a tie and provided at one end withlaterally spaced overhanging jaws formed to engage the upper inclinedface of the rail base flange at a substantial distance from its edge tohold the shank firmly against the rail base, a normally inactiveshoulder at to abut against a tie and provided at one end with r a pairof laterally spaced overhanging aws to grip the upper inclined face ofthe rail base with a powerful gripping action and adapted to hold theshank firmly against the rail base and the shank being provided at itsopposite end with a laterally extending arm the end of which isangularly related to the pair of overhanging jaws at the opposite sideof the rail base and adapted to be sprung into engagement with the edgeof the rail and held thereagainst and from moving downwardly by saidoverhanging jaws, the construction being such that any tendency ofcreepage causes the end of the lateral arm to bite with increasing forceagainst the edge of the rail base.

18. A one-piece rail anchor substantially as described comprising ashank adapted to extend across the rail base in diagonal relation to thelongitudinal axis of the adjoining tie, two overhanging aws at the endof the shank which is spaced from the tie and adapted to grip theinclined face of the rail base with a powerful gripping action to holdthe shank firmly against the rail base, and provided at the opposite endof the shank which bears against the tie with a laterally extendingcurved arm the end of which grips the edge of the rail base flange at apoint diagonally of the rail from the overhanging aws.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

CHARLES G. ERICSON.

the opposite end of said shank adapted to lie H in slightly spacedrelation to the edge of the rail base, and an arm extending from theshouldered portion of the shank in the direction of the on-comingtraffic and adapted to abut against the rail edge in non-overhangingrelation therewith.

16. A one-piece rail anchor comprising, a shank having an arm at one endand rail engaging jaws .at its opposite end, the shank being constructedto extend across the rail base to abut against a tie and the arm beingbent laterally to the shank in the direction of the on-coming trafficand constructed toengage the edge of the rail only at one side of thevertical plane of the shank and in nonoverhanging relation with the railbase and r the metalat the opposite end of the shank being cut toposition'the jaws so that they will extend a substantial distance overthe rail base to engage the upper inclined face, thereof and hold theshank firmly against.

7 V the under face of the rail.

17 A one-piece rail anchor consisting of a shank adapted to extendacross the rail base an A.

